Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Dr. Wendy Weber has been appointed director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), effective August 23, 2026, according to an NIH statement.
Prior to this role, Dr. Weber served as acting deputy director since October 2025 and held several leadership positions at NCCIH, including acting division director of extramural research and head of the Clinical Research Branch. Her leadership in clinical trials has advanced non-addictive pain management methods such as acupuncture and mindfulness-based stress reduction.
NCCIH, with a budget of approximately $170 million, supports research to better understand the science, usefulness, and safety of complementary and integrative health interventions, and their potential to improve healthcare.
Dr. Weber’s tenure at NIH spans over 15 years, during which she contributed to the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory and the NIH-VA-DoD Pain Management Collaboratory. Her research background includes work at Bastyr University and Massachusetts General Hospital, including clinical trials of botanical interventions like Echinacea and St. John’s Wort.
Dr. Weber is a licensed naturopathic physician, holding an N.D. from Bastyr University, as well as a Master of Public Health and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
According to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., Dr. Weber’s leadership and expertise make her well suited to advance NCCIH’s mission of rigorous scientific discovery, with a focus on chronic diseases and nutritional interventions.